Massachusetts wins Class A pool at Series

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.  Craig Cole admits he was nervous while batting leadoff for his Saugus, Mass., team.

Associated Press

Published
12:00 am EDT, Tuesday, August 19, 2003

After he batted just .143 in his first two games, his coaches moved him down to sixth in the order, and now hes batting just fine.

Cole hit an RBI single in the first and scored the eventual winning run in the fourth in a 4-3 victory over Boynton Beach, Fla., on Monday night to win Pool A at the Little League World Series.

"The first couple days, I was batting first and I was nervous," Cole said. "They moved me back to get my confidence back, and it worked."

Michael Broad hit a booming homer over the center field fence, his second of the Series, to bring Boynton Beach within 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, but Cody Emerson hit into a double play to end the game.

Saugus (3-0) will face either Wilmington, Del., or Richmond, Texas, in Thursdays U.S. semifinal.